A Delightful Weekend

27. May 2007 · 1 comment · Categories: Pictures

Christy and I have just returned from a delightful weekend with a magnificent hostess. While we were there, we visited The Getty which was just fabulous. If you make it out to LA it’s well worth the price of admission (also, admission is free, although there is an $8 fee for parking). Many great works of art in a truly beautiful setting. We also managed to spend some time at various beaches, ate everything from scones to sushi, choked down a Chilcano de Pisco or three and even managed to smoke some cigars (ok, Christy didn’t do that part). Throw in things like lunch at a biker/surfer bar in Malibu and it was a great time.

Tra-la-la! Anyhow, there are pictures of the Getty up on my Flickr Page for those interested in such things. AE’s place of employment required her charms whilst we were at the Getty, so y’all only get pictures of Christy and I.

WordPress Upgrade

25. May 2007 · Comments Off on WordPress Upgrade · Categories: WordPress · Tags: ,

Ok folks, I switched to WordPress 2.2 a few minutes ago. So far the site seems pretty stable, but please let me know if you notice anything acting funny.

Thank you,
— the management

How to Shave Yer Skull

24. May 2007 · 2 comments · Categories: Me, Me, Me, Me

Christy prefers the title, “How I Shaved His Thick Skull”. We took some photos during the cutting process, so might as well post them here. Unfortunately we didn’t have another camera person, so no action shots of Christy, even though she did most of the work.

Ready for Shaving All of the thumbnails can be clicked on if you really need a closer view. The last photo of my hair pre-shaving. It’s pretty much just straight out of the shower at this point, so a mess. I should be chopped off!

Cutting Starts We start off with initial hacking via scissors.

Mohawk Christy’s demonstration of what I would look like in a mohawk. Tempting to stop right here, but we tarried on.

Right Cutting Getting shorter… We started with the scissors and would later move to “buzzing” with the beard trimmer. I’m not the hairy beast (on my back and shoulders) that these pictures may indicate, that’s pretty much all cut hair.

Shaved Monkey Look, a shaved monkey! I actually kind of like it at this length. Something to look forward during the inevitable “put it back on!”

Give Myself a Buzz At this point we’ve switched to the beard trimmer. Christy was a little nervous about using it without the guard, so I did some testing to make sure it wouldn’t tear up my scalp too badly. The guard clogs after about one stroke so just wasn’t useful.

Stubble Right Stubble! Stubble Back

Leftovers Some of my ex-hair.

Maybe with a Little Glue With a little glue we can still fix it!

The Final Shave I jumped back in the shower, added some shaving oil and gel and then did the final shave by hand. Christy did most of the back, which is handy because there’s a few moles that way.

Newly Bald The final product a few days later, the same day shots are in the last post. No more helmet hair!

Changes Come

19. May 2007 · 5 comments · Categories: Me, Me, Me, Me

Guess What?
Guess What?

More »

Internet Caucus Advisory Committee — “Just the Facts About Online Youth Victimization”

15. May 2007 · Comments Off on Internet Caucus Advisory Committee — “Just the Facts About Online Youth Victimization” · Categories: Linky

The ever-insightful danah boyd pointed out the following link to a (PDF) transcript of the Internet Caucus Advisory Committee’s Just the Facts About Online Youth Victimization” panel. I think danah provides a lot of fascinating insights about online youth culture and it was very enjoyable to see some other social scientists bringing a more quantitative approach to the discussion. Lots of good stuff here.

“Why Do My Hands Hurt So Much?”

06. May 2007 · 1 comment · Categories: Art · Tags: , , , ,

This piece is also titled, “Self Portrait As A Zombie.” It’s the last in this series of three sketches (“Sick” was the first and “Everything Hurts” the second) all using layers of India ink and pastels, then scraped off with a razor blade.

Why Do My Hands Hurt So Much?

Zombie Hands! Otherwise known as: one of many reasons joint pain sucks.
Why Do My Hands Hurt So Much? - Detail

PSA: Campari’s Angel & Devil ad

04. May 2007 · 2 comments · Categories: General

So I posted an article about the delectable negroni a while back. It’s a ridiculously tasty way to consume Campari. Betsy mentioned their print ad involving a devil, and ever since then I get about a hit a day from google with people searching for that thing. This post isn’t going to help that trend, but since Campari is one of my favorite things I’ll do them a favor and tell you folks how to find a picture of the poster.

The advertisement you’re looking for is probably Matthew Rolston’s 2005 “Il Buono e il Brutto”. CampariUSA has a copy of it on their website, and I’d link to that copy, but in a fit of style-over-brains the site is entirely in flash which is why google can’t search it and I can’t link to it. So you’ll need to do the following:

  1. Go to CompariUSA. It will resize your browser window because it’s an annoying flash-based site and it knows what you want better than you do.
  2. Enter in your birth date and click “Enter”.
  3. In the upper-left corner, click on Menu, then Culture, then Posters.
  4. See those squares in bottom of your screen, under the poster? Those are miniature pictures helpfully made so small that you probably can’t actually use them to find the right one. Click on the 4th square from the right and you should see the angel and devil.

There’s another copy of the poster on the same site, but instead of talking about the photographer, it accompanies the poster with:

“Il Buono e Il Brutto” expresses the bold sensuality of classic Italian style while embodying the sinfully provocative taste.

Isn’t it remarkably vapid and annoying? Really, you’re better off ignoring all of the above and getting yourself a nice Campari based drink.

NYT drinks gin

02. May 2007 · 3 comments · Categories: Gin, Linky

An always thoughtful friend pointed me to the New York Times two page article discussing a martini tasting. My love for the topic (gin!) prompts me to post about it here, but do be warned that they only review ten gins and I’d lodge a few disagreements. I keep saying I need to do this more in depth at some point, but now is certainly not the time. Some commentary on their gin reviews:

  • Plymouth – They’re right to love it. It’s a great gin.
  • Junipero – What they call assertive I maintain is downright undignified. I have a bottle, and have tried it a few times, and it’s just too aggressive for my tastes.
  • Old Raj – Huzzah! Someone else in the world has tried this stuff! It’s a strange gin, and you should totally try it out in a bar. But it’s also the most expensive gin I’ve ever seen, and having bought a bottle back in the days of full employment, it’s tough to recommend someone else doing so unless you’re also a collector of such things.
  • Hendricks – It’s a fun gin and it comes in a delightful bottle. I’m a sucker for packaging. Not my favorite but close to it and there are lots of my lovely friends who adore the stuff. It is a little different, but in this case different is good.
  • Bombay Sapphire – I like their review on this. Sapphire tends to be a little harsh for my tastes these days, but it’s ubiquitous and not bad.
  • Quintessential – Ugh. Enjoy it in a gin and Fresca but it’s really a terrible base for a martini.
  • Martin Millers – I always think of this gin as a little bubbly, but I recall enjoying it. It was the favorite of one of my friends, and I think he was on to something. It’s one I’m looking forward to returning to at some point, and if you’re touring gins I’d say it’s worth a stop.

    • Keep in mind that my “go to” gins are Magellan and Van Gogh, both of which are somewhat soft and floral. As such, my tastes are a bit different than the NYT folks and probably my dear readers. Hrm, perhaps I need to host another Tour of Gin soon!

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